Obituaries 01 (Sep 08 - Jul 11)

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"Gunsmoke" star James Arness dead at age 88 by Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor James Arness, who personified the tall, rugged lawman of the American frontier as Marshal Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke," U.S. television's longest-running prime-time drama, died on Friday at age 88.

Arness died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, said his business manager, Ginny Fazer.

The actor was in relatively good health but had "just been fading" in recent years, Fazer told Reuters. "No disease, nothing untoward, he just got tired, I guess," she said.

Arness was best known for his 20 years on TV playing Matt Dillon, the U.S. marshal in the dusty wild-west town of Dodge City, Kansas, a role for which he was recommended by his showbiz mentor and friend, the film star John Wayne.

When "Gunsmoke" left the CBS airwaves in 1975, Arness had set the record for the longest-running role played by a single actor in prime time. The feat that went unmatched until Kelsey Grammer tied the record after 20 years of playing psychiatrist Frasier Crane on two NBC comedies -- "Cheers" and "Frasier."

"James Arness will always be remembered as one of the biggest stars in the history of television, playing an iconic role on the medium's longest-running prime-time drama ever," CBS said in a statement.

"Gunsmoke," which originated on CBS radio in 1952 with William Conrad as the voice of Matt Dillon, debuted on TV as one of the first in a wave of "adult westerns" that sought to portray gunslingers and cowboys in a way that appealed to grown-up viewers, rather than youngsters.

Although not an immediate hit, "Gunsmoke" climbed up the ratings chart to No. 8 in its second season and went on to become the top-rated show on U.S. television from 1957 to 1961.

The show's success helped generate a lot of competition, with network television's prime-time lineup including more than 30 westerns at one point, but "Gunsmoke" outlasted them all.

MEMORABLE ENSEMBLE CAST

The cast comprised one of television's most memorable ensembles of supporting characters -- the good-natured but gullible deputy with a limp, Chester Goode, played by Dennis Weaver; the red-haired, whiskey-voiced saloon keeper Miss Kitty Russell; crusty old "Doc" Adams, and Louie, the town drunk.

Chester, who spoke with a pronounced twang -- "Meester Deellon!" -- left the series in 1964 and was replaced by scruffy deputy Festus Haggen. Miss Hannah took over the Long Branch Saloon after Kitty's exit.

Arness, who stood 6-feet-7-inches tall, earned three Emmy nominations for the program over the years.

Born James Aurness in Minneapolis to a family of Norwegian heritage, Arness dropped the "u" at the outset of his film career. He attributed his acting success to luck.

He was severely wounded in the leg in World War Two, which left him with a life-long limp.

While recuperating, his younger brother Peter -- who gained fame as the actor Peter Graves in TV's "Mission: Impossible" -- encouraged him to take a radio course. Arness got an announcing job, but then headed to Hollywood in hopes of a movie career.

He made his film debut in "The Farmer's Daughter" in 1947 as Loretta Young's brother, and appeared four years later in the title part as a space alien in "The Thing from Another World."

An agent who represented John Wayne later introduced him to Arness, and Wayne took the actor under his wing, giving him roles in several of his movies. Wayne ultimately suggested Arness for the lead part in "Gunsmoke," and even introduced the first episode for CBS.

Arness returned as Matt Dillon in five "Gunsmoke" reunion specials, the last of which aired in 1994 when he was 71. He also starred in the 1977 TV mini-series "How the West Was Won," the modern police drama "McClain's Law" in 1981, and reprised John Wayne's role in a TV remake of "Red River" in 1988.

Arness is survived by his second wife, Janet, two sons and six grandchildren.


Source: Reuters US Online Report Entertainment News

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"Spider-Man" producer Laura Ziskin dies of cancer

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Laura Ziskin, the Hollywood producer who helped turn "Pretty Woman" heroine Julia Roberts into a star and brought "Spider-Man" to the big screen, died on Sunday after a public battle with breast cancer. She was 61.

According to a statement from Sony Pictures, where her production company was based, Ziskin died at her Los Angeles home after fighting the disease for seven years.

In 2008 Ziskin, along with other entertainment notables including newswoman Katie Couric, co-founded Stand Up To Cancer, an advocacy group for cancer research. Later that year -- and again last September -- Ziskin produced all-star telethons that aired live on the major U.S. networks.

In addition to making movies, Ziskin also produced the Academy Awards broadcast twice, and served as president of Fox 2000 Pictures, a feature film division of 20th Century Fox.

She was perhaps best known for producing the three "Spider-Man" movies starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. The trilogy grossed $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office. The franchise is currently being overhauled with a new cast and a focus on the superhero's early years.

Among the films Ziskin championed at Fox 2000 was the searingly brutal drama "Fight Club," starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Following an advance screening that left other studio executives bewildered and angry, Ziskin boldly proclaimed it was brilliant, according to author Sharon Waxman's "Rebels on the Backlot."

Still she did blanch at one comical line -- "I want to have your abortion -- and begged director David Fincher to replace it. He reluctantly agreed, but the new line was even more grotesque and she begged him to revert to the old line. He refused, according to the book.

Ziskin, a Los Angeles native who started out as a personal assistant, started making features in the mid-1980s. She teamed with actress Sally Field to produce "Murphy's Romance," a 1985 comedy-drama for which James Garner received an Oscar nomination.

She hired hot young stars Kevin Costner for "No Way Out" (1987) and Dennis Quaid for "D.O.A." (1988), and helped transform Roberts into Hollywood's biggest sensation with "Pretty Woman," the 1990 smash which she executive produced.

Ziskin rescued legendary Hollywood scribe Buck Henry ("The Graduate") from a long dry spell by recruiting him to write the adaptation for "To Die For," a dark comedy directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Nicole Kidman.

By the time it was released in 1995, Ziskin was ensconced at Fox 2000 where she also oversaw such films as "Courage Under Fire," "One Fine Day," "Soul Food" and "The Thin Red Line."

In 2002, she became the first woman to produce the Oscar broadcast solo. The show, presented for the first time at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, also marked the first Oscarcast appearance of the Cirque du Soleil acrobatic troupe. She also produced the 2007 ceremony.

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2004, and underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, a stem-cell transplant and radiation. The cancer returned in 2009, having spread to her liver and bones.

Sony Pictures said a memorial would be planned. Ziskin is survived by her husband Alvin Sargent, an Oscar-winning screenwriter ("Ordinary People," "Julia") who collaborated on the "Spider-Man" films; and a daughter from her first marriage.

Source: Reuters US Online Report Entertainment News

[winston]

I've always enjoyed "Colombo" and his trade mark gesture, where he would pretend to leave and then come back with "Oh ... just one more thing ...." .

TV's Columbo, Peter Falk, dead at 83 by Michael Thurston

Peter Falk, the gravel-voiced US actor who played rumpled TV detective Columbo, has died aged 83, his family said Friday.

Falk, whose portrayal of the disheveled, raincoat-wearing homicide detective made him a household name around the world and earned him several Emmy awards, died Thursday at his home.

"Peter Falk, 83 year-old Academy Award nominee and star of television series Columbo, died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home in the evening of June 23, 2011," said a statement issued by a family lawyer.

"Peter Falk is survived by his wife, Shera, of 34 years and two daughters from a previous marriage," it said.

The cause of death was not given. The actor had suffered from Alzheimer's in recent years, and his wife Shera was appointed to look after his affairs in 2009.

Born in New York City on September 16, 1927, Falk was diagnosed at the age of three with cancer of the eye, he wrote in his 2006 book "Just One More Thing" -- named after his Columbo catchprase.

After surgeons removed his right eye, Falk was fitted with a glass eye, which did not stop him from becoming a star athlete and being elected class president at school.

He even learned early in life to play his disability for laughs -- during a high school baseball game, Falk wrote, the umpire called him out at third base when he was certain he was safe.

"In front of everyone, I whipped out my eye and handed it to the umpire, (saying) 'You'll do better with this one.' Talk about getting a laugh. I got a roar. Even the guys on the other team were rolling in the grass," he wrote.

After high school, Falk joined the merchant marines and went to sea as a cook, but then went to college to study public administration. He tried to get a job working for the CIA, but his membership in a labor union while a seaman -- seen as having the taint of possible communist affiliation -- torpedoed Falk's chances of getting work as a government spy.

He later found employment at the post office, and then as a bureaucrat with the Connecticut state government, doing a bit of regional theater and taking acting classes on the side.

Then in 1956, at the age of 29, he abruptly quit his day job and decided to to move back to New York, declaring himself an actor.

The gamble paid off. Falk found quick on-stage success in a 1956 off-Broadway production of "The Iceman Cometh," playing opposite legendary actor Jason Robards.

But Hollywood was not so hospitable at first. A movie talent scout reportedly had wanted to recruit Falk, but the actor was rejected by the head of a major movie studio.

Undaunted, Falk moved in 1960 to Hollywood, where he received an Oscar nomination for his first role, in "Murder, Inc." He garnered another nomination for his second big screen role, in the 1961 film "Pocketful of Miracles."

But Falk is best remembered for his television turn as Columbo, which earned him four Emmy awards over the years.

The show started as a TV movie in 1968 and later made into a weekly series, in 1971. It quickly rose in the ratings to become one of the most popular shows on television.

He played Lieutenant Columbo, a seemingly slow-witted Los Angeles detective who invariably succeeded in nabbing the criminal just minutes before the closing credits.

"Just one more thing," Columbo would say several times each episode, resuming his questioning of the prime suspect who had been certain until that moment that he had failed to arouse the investigator's suspicion.

Part of Falk's loveable schtick as Columbo was the ever-present cigar that dangled from his fingers and his wrinkled raincoat, worn regardless of the weather, plucked from Falk's own bedroom closet.

The veteran actor also had considerable success on stage and on the big screen, with more than 40 Hollywood movies to his credit.

Source: AFP Global Edition

[winston]

Helping Others Work Through Grief and Loss By Josh Hinds

I offer these thoughts not as some self proclaimed expert, but rather as someone who has had the unique experience of dealing with the loss of loved ones thrust upon me at a relatively young age.

In junior high school my grandfather passed away, then just shy of high school graduation one of my best friends was killed, and then just a few short years later my father died unexpectedly. I've also experienced varying degrees of loss along the way.

First off, I'm not here to compare any loss I've experienced to anyone else. That would be both silly, and irresponsible. If there's one thing I've learned from the countless and varied stories people have shared with me over the years in the work I do, it's that when you think you have heard it all, someone else comes along with a story that will top what you've heard.

So instead of making comparisons, my life experience has me believing that everyone's situation is unique, and to that person, in the place they are in the moment it is every bit as difficult as anyone else's situation.

With that said, here are some ideas that I hope you will find helpful...

Keep in mind that telling someone who is in the midst of dealing with the loss of a loved one that "everything happens for a reason" may not always get quite the positive effect you meant for it to when you say it.

This is a bit of advice geared towards the friend or otherwise well meaning person who is trying to be there for the person who is dealing with their loss and grief. You may very well mean it with the best of intentions, and your own life experience gained over time may very well have proven out that there is truth in the statement.

However, the problem comes in in that first, in most cases the person you're giving that advice to isn't privy to the same life experiences that you are -- and as a result is seeing the situation from an entirely different frame of reference.

Another thing that we often forget when passing along the "everything happens for a reason" bit of advice, when it relates to helping others through some form of personal loss or grief, is that they are not able to see the "lesson" --if in fact there is one.

Here's what I mean, often, the "lesson" if you choose to call it that is something that reveals itself much, much later in the healing process. Often it happens so gradually that one never picks up on it. Plus, something we often don't consider is that a person who is deeply missing another human being very likely doesn't want to entertain the thought of having some major "epiphany" where it is revealed to them that there was some "positive reason" for the person they care so deeply for to have had to go through what they did.

Again, I can't stress enough that it's not that you are being ill-meaning when you share what you mean to be helpful words, but instead my hope is that you'll keep in mind that such a saying, if that person isn't at that stage in their healing may have the opposite result that you meant for them to have.

So in summary, you may mean well, and that in itself is commendable, but just as if you misspell the word dog, no matter how many times you continue to misspell it, it's still going to lead you to the incorrect spelling

Assuming you agree with any of the ideas I've shared above, the inevitable question arises, "if that's true, what in the heck can I say to help someone I care deeply about then?"

A good question indeed. First, and this is offered up strictly from past experience -- with the advantage (if you want to call it that) of having years to let the thoughts gel overtime. First, realize that you don't have to say anything at all. You do have to be there for the person.
Keeping in mind that truly being there in whatever capacity a person needs (so long as it isn't destructive to you or that person) can be incredibly helpful in and of itself.

Secondly, and here I want to speak directly to those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. Time, while it may not heal you completely, does alter your outlook. When it comes to healing the heart, that amount of time is different for everyone. It's not about the pain completely subsiding as much as it adjusting. It's hard to explain, and I'll fully concede that to the person who is still right in the middle of it what I'm saying may sound like complete B.S. -- to which I'm not about to argue the point.

What I'm suggesting isn't about me being right, or anyone being right, rather it's simply my observation given over an extended period of time. And like all advice offered, take what resonates with you my friend -- and to put it politely, kick what doesn't to the curb.

In summary I would just say that if you are dealing with loss, you may very well at times feel like curling up in a ball and letting the world pass you by. That is a choice -- and I'm not even here to criticize the person who opts to make that choice. I can say though from experience that the opposite of that, and being busy in some activity can be incredibly helpful. If even to divert what you're feeling, those incredibly hard feelings for even a moment in time can do wonders in helping your heart heal.

Finally, I would offer up a thought I heard some time ago that I believe is worth keeping in mind. It was Mark Victor Hansen who I first heard say, "teach that which you most want to see implemented in your own life". How that relates to what I'm discussing here is that perhaps being a part of a support group, or tapping into in some way, or reaching out to others who have managed to navigate their own loss and grief can be incredibly helpful.

Again, it's not as much about finding some "magic pill" that will make things all better, in this idea, the point is to find a sense of hope that just as others have managed to move forward over time, so there is hope for you too. And make no mistake -- hope is a powerful thing!

Source: getmotivation.com

[kennynah]

And we wait some more

[winston]

Former first lady Betty Ford dies, age 93 by Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Betty Ford, the wife of the late President Gerald Ford, who overcame alcohol and prescription drug addictions and helped found a rehabilitation clinic that bears her name, died on Friday at the age of 93.

"I was deeply saddened this afternoon when I heard of Betty Ford's death," another former first lady, Nancy Reagan, said in a statement confirming Ford's death.

Ford once was dubbed the "fighting first lady" by Time magazine because of her outspoken political views, which often differed from those of her husband's Republican Party.

She strongly supported women's rights while her husband was president from 1974 to 1977, working the phones in a vain attempt to get states to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which sought to give women and men equality under law.

Ford's candor was surprising for the time. She took a tolerant stance on abortion and admitted without shame that some of her children had tried marijuana. Nor was she alarmed by the prospect of her daughter having premarital sex.

Ford also was an early campaigner against breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy in 1974, less than two months after her husband succeeded the disgraced Richard Nixon as president.

Her frank discussions about her disease helped raise awareness about breast cancer and she eventually took the same approach toward her alcoholism, which she battled even as first lady.

Ford's problems with chemical dependency may have begun in 1964, when doctors prescribed her painkillers for a pinched nerve. She developed an addiction to prescription drugs and also became dependent on alcohol during the 1960s.

The Betty Ford Center in California came into being in 1982 after Ford was treated for her addictions at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Long Beach, and saw the need for treatment that emphasized the special needs of women.

"She has been an inspiration to so many through her efforts to educate women about breast cancer and her wonderful work at the Betty Ford Center," Nancy Reagan, the wife of the late President Ronald Reagan, said in the statement.

"She was Jerry Ford's strength through some very difficult days in our country's history and I admired her courage in facing and sharing her personal struggles with all of us."

PRAISE FROM OBAMA, GEORGE W. BUSH

President Barack Obama praised Ford's courage and compassion.

"As our nation's first lady, she was a powerful advocate for women's health and women's rights," he said in a statement. "After leaving the White House, Mrs. Ford helped reduce the social stigma surrounding addiction and inspired thousands to seek much-needed treatment."

Former President George W. Bush described her as a valued friend who "made countless contributions to our country."

Ford remained an active chairman of the center's board of directors for decades and also worked to help handicapped children, the arts and the fights against AIDS and arthritis.

For most of her adult life, Ford was best known as the wife of Rep. Gerald Ford, a Michigan Republican, and the mother of four children. The couple had planned to retire from Congress in 1973 when Nixon, already under fire in the Watergate scandal, chose Ford to serve as vice president after the resignation of Spiro Agnew.

Ford became president after Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, but he was defeated when he ran for the presidency in 1976 by Democrat Jimmy Carter. Betty delivered her husband's concession speech because he had lost his voice on the campaign trail.

Born April 8, 1918, in Chicago, Elizabeth Bloomer was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She wanted to be a dancer and studied under Martha Graham and modeled in New York before returning to Grand Rapids and marrying a furniture salesman. They divorced after five years and she married Ford in 1948.

In her later years, Betty Ford slipped from the public eye but returned when her husband of 58 years died in 2006. Her stately demeanor in time of grief brought her to the attention of a whole new generation that possibly knew her name only from the famous clinic.

Source: Reuters US Online Report Top News

[winston]

Cryonics pioneer Ettinger dies at 92

OBITUARY Robert Ettinger, the pioneer of the cryonics movement that advocates freezing the dead in the hope that medical technology will enable them to live again some day, has died. He was 92.

Source: Reuters

[kennynah]

one day....one day....